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Collins lowers herself during a simulation exercise. Collins dons her space suit before a session in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
nation’s space program. I wanted to fly
the space shuttle.”
Air Force pilot training and stints as
an aircraft commander and instructor
at bases in Oklahoma and California
followed, allowing Collins to log more
than 5,000 hours in 30 different types
of aircraft.
Site earned a master’s degree in opera
tions research from Stanford University in
California in 1986. With the addition of
a master’s degree in space systems man
agement from Webster University in St.
Louis in 1989, she accumulated a broad
background that filled a void in the space
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©2005 National Consumer Marketing. 580 South Research Place. Central Islip. NY 11722. Humvee is a registered trademark of
AM General LLC and is used under license from AM General LLC. Copyright AM General LLC 2004. all rights reserved
program. Selected by NASA in January
1990, Collins became an astronaut in
July 1991.
Nearly 14 years later, Collins
remains enthralled with space travel.
"My best memory is looking out the
window and seeing all the outstanding
geographical features,” she says. "One
time we flew over Europe in descend
ing mode, and (then) I could look down
and see the Nile Delta, the Red Sea
and the Persian Gulf. We crossed the
Himalayan Mountains in India and
flew over the Indian Ocean and Aus
tralia before the sun went down.’’
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51 m C S>
Orbiting the Earth at 17,000 mph pro
vides magical views. Collins’ eyes gleam
as she says, “Windows are on top of the
shuttle, so when we fly upside down, you
can stretch out your arms and legs, put your
face on the windows, and imagine you’re
flying over the Earth —like there’s no space
craft around you. You can do it at night, too.
Turn off all the lights inside the shuttle, and
spread your wings.”
The opportunity to see Earth from space
is one reason Collins supports future space
tourism. “It's beautiful: the deserts, islands,
atolls, the coral reefs that look like jewels
in the water. Orbiting the Earth is such a
visually breathtaking experience. All I can
say is, Wow! "
A mother first
But when she returns to Earth, she's just
like any other working mom who struggles
to find a balance between career and family.
“I try' to focus on the fact that I really love
what I do. I draw energy from my job and
my family, and they support what I do,"
says Collins, who now makes her home in
Houston.
She shares characteristics of life in the
program with other women. “Before I came
to NASA, she filled me in on housing, what
to wear, what life is like here—just things
women share with each other," Coleman
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Collins floats on Columbia’s middeck in 1999.
says. “Now that we both have children, we
feel qualified not only in ‘outdoor leader
ship’ (required training), but in 'indopr
leadership’—overcoming obstacles we face
at home with our families.”
When not actively preparing for a flight,
Collins enjoys running and playing soccer
with her 9-year-old daughter and 4-year-old
son. “I used to take pictures of airplanes;
now I take pictures of my kids. They’re
my hobbies.”
Although she loves to read, most eve
nings find the dedicated astronaut study
ing reports from her job. “A few years ago
I tried to read a novel, got through a few
chapters and thought, ’My life is much
more interesting than this book.’”
Beverly Burmeier is a freelance uriter who
lives in Austin, Texas.
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